Kaizen Klan: May 2009

Another month has come and gone and the Kaizen Klan marches on. Caden is still going to school 3 days a week and therapy 2 days a week. He LOVES school and all the teachers and kids in his class. He loves it so much that as soon as he sees the door to his classroom he goes into a full blown sprint and ditches mommy. When it's time to head home it's the complete opposite, he drags his feet and takes his sweet time. His sensory issues have gotten a little better. We recently started a casein (dairy) free diet. After 2 weeks on that we are supposed to go gluten free (no wheat, barley, or oats) for 6 months. Recent research has shown that kids with autism or sensory issues like Caden digest foods differently than other people. When they consume milk protein(casein), it leads to high levels of protein by-products, called casomorphine. These by-products may then affect behavior like a drug would. Specifically, in these children, casomorphines could reduce their desire for social interaction, block pain messages, and increase confusion. If milk protein is taken out of the diet, the idea is that this will reduce the level of casomorphines, and behavior will improve as a result. So, for the next 6 months we will be directing a lot of our attention to Caden's diet and hopefully we'll see some improvements.

My 2 little monsters

Crazy Caden

Hanging out

Caden's Masterpiece

He finds the perfect place for every block .....and then Téa comes and destroys it

Caden in the police car

Spending time with sissy

Téa upset because Caden's in her baby doll stroller

Trying to figure a way to get him out

If that doesn't work resort to screaming your head off

And then there was Téa. It's crazy to think that I have a 3 1/2 yr old and a 13 month old. Well, Tea is walking everywhere and even running a little bit now (probably as a result of trying to escape her big brother). She is also talking. She says "Daddy", "Mama", "Ditty" (kitty), "wower" (flower), "dat"(that), "nak" (snack), "Bat" (bath) and is using baby signs as well. She signs, "more", "thank you", "please", " all done", and "milk". I keep telling Don give her another 6 months and then she'll be talking back to us. She has also recently discovered that she can climb on anything. She scales up the couches, chairs, beds and anything else in her sights. She's quite the little dare devil. I wonder where she gets that from?

Silly Téa